Real Haunted Houses

Real Haunted House

Ruins of Gore Orphanage

Loraine County, Ohio
By Cecilia

If you travel down a winding road through the thick of the woods, you will eventually come across a bridge, a field, an overgrown foundation, and a short sandstone pillar. This is what remains of the Gore Orphanage, one of Ohio’s most haunted locations.  Although it was originally known as the Light and Hope Orphanage, the place earned its nickname from the shape of the land and, later, the gruesome story that accompanied it.

Founded by Reverend Johann Sprunger and his wife Katharina in 1902, the place was a nightmare even before being supposedly engulfed in flames. The couple shared a depressing, unfortunate history, which included the destruction of their previous orphanage and two other businesses in Indiana, as well as the death of their two children. However, nothing could compare to the atrocities inflicted upon the children they were currently made to take care of at Light and Hope.

The orphanage held up to one hundred twenty children, with two separate farms for the boys and girls, a schoolhouse (which included a chapel), and a small printing press. Although the Reverend must have been a religious man, rumors surrounding the orphanage suggested that the children there were being subjected to a hell beyond belief. In fact, a few even waded through the deep Vermilion River in effort to escape. Tales were told of bedrooms filled with rats and other vermin, large welts that developed on one’s skin after being beaten, and a diet consisting of animal innards, and diseased meat and corn. The inmates received hardly any schooling, and any illness was treated only by prayer.

However, further research has concluded that the eventual burning of the Gore orphanage is simply a legend created by the accidental entwining of another morbid occasion into the story. In 1908, an elementary school in the town of Collinwood had mysteriously caught fire, killing well over a hundred children. Some were burned or trampled to death, while others were trapped by the walls and flames. Still others tried to escape, but found the back door locked. When rescuers tried to open it, they found it was the kind of door that swings inside, and therefore wouldn’t budge because of the desperate crowd pressing against it. The blaze spread quickly, drawing screams and shrieks from the trapped children. Although the heartbroken town investigated, the cause of the fire was never found. The legend states that a little boy dropped an oil lamp outside, but many people suspected it was started by the school’s own janitor, a German-American named Herter.

The Light and Hope orphanage finally closed down in 1916 due to ongoing financial problems. It might have been closed down sooner, after an investigation was conducted in 1909, but the state of Ohio had no formal laws concerning the operation and conditions of such institutions. Strangely enough, this happened exactly 13 years after the orphanage first opened. The children were then dispersed among relatives and guardians throughout the town, with the exception of those who had nowhere to go. Now widowed, Mrs. Sprunger took them with her back to Indiana, where she eventually died in 1953.

The areas around the ruins of both the school and the orphanage are said to be very haunted. There are often reports of shrill screaming, balls of light, visions of fire, and strange apparitions. Visitors who have taken pictures of the nearby forest and bridge are surprised to find that, after developing the film, mysterious white smudges and smoke wisps have shown up in the photo. There have even been some ghost sightings, including the discovery of a little ragged boy named Jacob. But perhaps the most disturbing of all are the small, dusty fingerprints found all over many a visitor’s possessions…

113 comments on this haunted house. Share your story »

More Haunted Houses:

Franklin Castle – While Franklin Castle in Ohio is a large and beautifully constructed building, it is far from a fairytale mansion. Countless deaths and cruel murders have...

Hammock House – If you spend time visiting the little town of Beaufort, no doubt you’ll be confronted with the locals’ stories about ghosts and pirates, especially Blackbeard....

The Buxton Inn – The Buxton Inn, located in a small Ohio town, is said to be home to the state’s “friendliest” haunts. Only a few ghosts reside here,...

113 Comments

Leave a comment

« · 1 · [2] · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · Next » ·

Show All Comments

Linsey says:

April 14, 2006, 7:29 pm

WHERE IS IT?

kt says:

June 28, 2006, 10:07 pm

Gore orphanage is actully blocked off on both the north and south side. I hear there is another road in lorain leading into the site but we havent tried it yet.

jenn says:

July 19, 2006, 9:44 pm

Last year i went to gore orpanage with a few friends not knowing what to expect. We went at about 11:00 at night and as we went over the bridge to get there we saw white lights in front of us untill we reached the piller. None of us thought to bring flashlights due to the fact we thought it was a myth…all we had were the cell phone lights. As we got out of the car, a black cat was coming out of the woods and we didnt think much of it till i now look at this site! We never actually found the foundation of the ruins because of the lack of light but we did hear and see interesting things, things that make you believe that something unusual was going on there. We stuck together as a group and heard laughing of what seemed to be children then we would lightly hear steps of someone else as we would stand still. As we left the site and headed back to the car, we heard light crys and screams as if they were suffering severly…the worst when we went back to the car it was parked on the otherside of the road!!
Ive never been back to gore since last year, even though i didnt see the actual thing i get a pretty good idea of the eerie feeling and happenings going on around there!
Becareful

Hollie says:

August 8, 2006, 10:09 am

I live probably 10-15 minutes roughly from the Gore Orphanage. In fact, my school news has done documentaries on it. People tend to really screw the story up, so here’s what everyone in Lorain Country actually hears:

Gore Orphanage started out as an actual mansion years and years ago. And when I say that, I mean very early 1900′s or late 1800′s. It housed the Wayward’s, and they had actually had two children that mysteriously died without any reasoning. Along with Mr. Wayward’s wife who later died some few years after, mysteriously. I believe somewhere between that time they were able to have one child who lived long enough to have a family of his own. And some many years later it is said an orphanage was built, and then you get the story that was just discussed here.

Gore Orphanage actually ISN’T where most people think it is. Most people actually go to the cemetery down the road from it thinking it’s Gore. But it’s not. The actual Gore Orphanage resides over the bridge, and there’s not much left but a few stone pillars, and pieces of the floor. Whether it was actually an Orphanage or not is still strongly debated. But it was, indeed, a mansion at one time. It IS documented that the Wayward’s lived there, and their children & and his wife did die with no evident cause. So whether you want to believe there’s something strange going on with the ‘Orphanage’, or not, there’s no doubt unexplainable events occur there.

horrorchick23 says:

September 17, 2006, 7:38 pm

dude thats not the story of this place i got. that story goes that there was an old man that was the care taker of the orphenage and he ddnt like children so he set fire to the place one night. and he also died an haunts it.

Nicole says:

September 17, 2006, 8:39 pm

the story of the family living on gor eorphanage is true and thee got sickly ill and died the only thing ppl don’t tell you is that somewhere in the woods where this sits is a vampire cult in the wooods that likes to scare ppl away or capture them and do only god knows what

Mary says:

September 18, 2006, 11:02 am

Can,t anyone get the story right. Go to the library
this is a way to find haunting out.
..Or call Ghost Hunter ..they will find the truth..
Mary

horrorchick23 says:

September 24, 2006, 7:20 pm

thats a goood idea mary ,hey everybody call taps to come a investagait.

Jennifer G. says:

October 5, 2006, 6:45 pm

Can someone E-Mail me with the address and location of this house? I live in Galloway, Ohio and would LOVE to see it. Please contact me at http://www.PurpleRain52384@aol.com

Michelle says:

October 8, 2006, 7:59 pm

Can someone please send me email me the exact location of Gore Orphanage?? I’ve heard about it for years and am dying to visit. I would be heading west on rt 10 from north ridgeville. Thanks so much!!

Tammy says:

October 9, 2006, 1:31 pm

Hey has anyone been there recently? I was there several times when I was younger but haven’t been there in a while. My husband and some friends want to go but I heard that it wasn’t there anymore. So if anyone has been there recently please write me back at Daremim3@yahoo.com. Oh and also they want to go on Friday the 13th of October so write me back a.s.a.p. Thanks

Jake says:

October 14, 2006, 4:29 pm

I was there last night at 1a.m. there was 12 of us we all heard some girl screaming when we were walking down the trail to the foundation. We have a music box sound on a tape recorder and some low screaming. We set the tape recorder on the pillar and walked away then it would turn off and on by itself..no joke all this really happened!9 of us ditched out and waited in the car…when we got back to the house there was a little kids hand print on the back window!you must go and see for yourself!!!!

Ian says:

October 16, 2006, 10:04 am

Iv been to gore many many times and when you get there there is pillers and all that stuff but if you walk up the road till u get to the top where the road is trashed and if u look down at the vally you can see spirits Or “Ghost” Playing and u can see the guys house who burnt down gore. while we were leaving are car wouldnt start for several mins and when we got it to start on the bridge it shut off again. then while we were going up the hill right befor were about to leave it shuts off again and the breaks stop working and the e-break stops work so we all had to jump out of the car and stop it.

Franz says:

October 28, 2006, 5:19 pm

I live in the next town over from gore, these are the facts:the location of the orphanage has no remains and when it burnt nobody died, the remains in the woods are from the swift house where the swift families 4 children ages 2-11 died in a seven day span.,those are the cries you hear.

Tangelos says:

November 1, 2006, 3:33 pm

Okay everyone. I went to the Lorain County Library and here’s what I found….http://www.lorain.lib.oh.us/local/history/gore1.asp Follow the link and it will lead you to a newspaper clipping regarding the “legend/true” story of the location. I hope this helps.

Casey Taylor says:

December 19, 2006, 1:27 am

Ok people me and 2 of my friends went today and we were on gore orphange road but could not find the site could someone PLEASE e-mail me with directions on how to find the site once on the road!!!! We spent like two hours driving up and down the road looking for a path or ne thing that led to the woods and could not find ne thing!!!!!! star_light_beauty2006@yahoo.com

Vinny says:

December 21, 2006, 6:58 pm

Gore Orphanage is a very interesting place in a really rural area of Ohio. I plan to go their sometime soon.

Patrick says:

December 29, 2006, 4:55 pm

I was at the site back in the fall of 2005. Nothing strange happened. However, it is NOT on private property. In fact, it is now owned by the Metroparks, so you won’t be trespassing if you go there during daylight hours. You’ll see a sign for the park along side the road, and a small dirt trail heads to the foundation. The foundation is not that of the orphanage. The orphanage itself was on the other side of the road. The foundation that is there is of the Swift Mansion. Look it up on http://www.forgottenoh.com

pink says:

January 1, 2007, 5:59 pm

That is so not what happend the place was set fire by one off the workers and and alot mostly all of the childern died the work was a man and the kids were mix boys and girls lied there not just boy i all this because my grandfother’s brother was one of the childern who got out alive and later he was addopted my who is now grat grandmother and grandfother but they are both dead they use to tell him storys all the time about the man and how he was so wicked to the childern and all that. there was a childs home there and they were not deformed or anything like that just alone

James says:

January 10, 2007, 4:58 pm

I was at Gore Orphange last weekend and got some
pretty good findings on our cameras and audio recordings
check it out on my latest Myspace blog entry
http://www.myspace.com/sendittomehere03

–Happy hunting and good luck!

« · 1 · [2] · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · Next » ·

Show All Comments

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Website

Please use correct grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. Let's try to keep this place looking classy.
Real Haunts reserves the right to remove any comment that does not adhere to this requirement or is otherwise
inappropriate. Any post containing a link will be flagged for moderation due to recent comment spam. Feel free
to include relevant links, but please know that it will delay your post.

About Real Haunts

Do you believe in the supernatural?

This is the best resource for haunted houses, spooky stories, ghostly tales and all things paranormal.

 

We have mountains of stories about ghosts, ghouls, and specters.

Sitemap

HomeStatesSubmit a Haunt

 

Copyright © 1998-2012

i85media Networks LLC

Privacy Policy